plant-inspired food + lifestyle

Lunar New Year | Sweet Celebration Bowl

For today’s post, I considered making something savory, but we’ve been having some mildly warm afternoons here in Texas, so instead, I will share a refreshing fruity recipe. This recipe showcases lucky fruits with meanings for Tết (Lunar New Year): soursop (custard apple), coconut, papaya, and mango.

This sweet celebration bowl is a fresh, fun take on a popular southern Vietnamese fruit arrangement for traditional Tết offerings. Toasted coconut flakes add a fragrant nutty crunch to balance the light, creamy tartness of the mango froyo. It’s a celebration of tropical flavors in your mouth!

Initially, I wanted to make a soursop froyo, but I (sadly) couldn’t find any frozen soursop without added sugar, so I didn’t want that ingredient to make up the bulk of my recipe. I really hope I can find frozen soursop without sugar, so I can re-visit that idea in the future.

For the froyo part, you really only need two main ingredients–frozen mango and unsweetened coconut yogurt. I included a little bit of frozen soursop (pictured above) for the sake of the lucky fruit theme, but it’s totally optional. It would be just as delicious without it!

The froyo process is so easy! Props to the amazing Susan at Fat Free Vegan for the original concept. It should take less than 10 minutes to whip up, or else you may run the risk of your froyo turning into a messy mango slush. This recipe turned out so well, I am excited to experiment with different fruit flavors in the future! I’m curious to see how it would turn out with just plain coconut or almond milk instead of yogurt.

2 tablespoons unsweetened cultured coconut milk (I used unsweetened vanilla by So Delicious—you can also use soy yogurt)

1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional, to taste)

1 tablespoon frozen soursop (optional)

toppings: fresh mango, papaya, and coconut flakes

Method:

Prepare your toppings first (don’t take out the mango/cultured coconut milk/frozen soursop until right before use). Cut the papaya and mango into bite-sized pieces. I personally prefer using mangos that are not too ripe, so they are still tart.

To toast the coconut flakes, place your coconut flakes on a baking sheet and toast them in the toaster oven at 400 degrees F for 1-2 minutes, or until they are light brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn! Set toppings aside.

In a food processor (I used my little Ninja food processor), pulse the mango and soursop a few times to get it chopped up, before adding the cultured coconut milk. Add the cultured coconut milk one tablespoon at a time, and pulse until your desired consistency. Add more if needed. I ended up using about 2 tablespoons. You will end up with a nice, creamy texture—hello, froyo!